I approached Square Mile Fitness because I’d finally had enough of being overweight and extremely unfit. I’d tried for years to get myself into shape but I just didn’t have the motivation or the will power to see it through.

I hadn’t exercised in a very long time and was naturally a bit nervous about what to expect from the training sessions but I needn’t have worried – Tirrel had me feeling at ease from the very start. His bubbly and energetic character makes me feel comfortable and relaxed even when he’s putting me through my paces. He actually makes me want to push myself further which is an impressive feat! No two sessions are the same – the exercises are varied and interesting and Tirrel always seems to know exactly what I’m capable of.

With a nutrition plan to follow as well, I started to see great results after just a few weeks. In 4 months, my fitness levels have improved dramatically and I’ve noticeably slimmed down and gained definition.

I can’t thank Tirrel enough for his help. Thanks to his knowledge and motivational skills, I’ve made amazing progress and I actually look forward to going to the gym, something I never thought I’d say!

Tirrel is a FANTASTIC trainer! He’s very knowledgeable and professional. What further sets him apart is that he’s extremely personable and gets the best out of me while keeping the sessions fun and enjoyable. He has even managed to fix an ongoing back problem I’ve had for years. You WILL get GREAT results with Tirrel, I can’t recommend him highly enough!.

We have put together a few tips to help you get the most out of your gym sessions, these tips can be tweaked to help burn fat or pack on some muscle.

Hydrate

A major component of a diet plan includes adequate water intake throughout the day. Water, a key component for detoxifying the body and assisting with the metabolising of the foods eaten, should never be neglected, especially during humid conditions. When training, water is valuable in that it hydrates the muscles, keeping them strong and full, while ensuring nutrients flow freely throughout the body to promote growth. Water also has a major positive effect on fat burning and will encourage feelings of fullness, which will discourage the tendency to eat junk food.

Eat At Least 2 Hours Before Training

Eating in the hours before training is one of the keys to a great workout. Without sufficient nutrients, most notably carbohydrates, energy levels for training will not be optimal. I have personally found that eating one hour before training will provide more energy than eating two hours out. Try both approaches to find what works best for you. This diet plan is structured in such a way to ensure that you benefit from a pre-workout meal.

Eat Post-Workout

Like pre-workout nutrition, post workout feedings are similarly important. Unlike the pre-workout meal, where energy production is the intended outcome, post workout nutrition will ensure that energy is replaced and protein is supplied to the muscles when they are most receptive to its positive effects. Many training experts go as far as to say that the post-workout meal is the second most important feeding of the day, after breakfast.After intense training the muscles are typically depleted of carbohydrates, leaving a 30 to 45 minute gap for replenishment. Protein is also rapidly taken into the muscles at this time.

After you wake up in the morning it is especially vital that breakfast is eaten; the size of this meal is large in comparison to subsequent meals for that day because it not only replaces carbohydrate that has been used during training and depleted during sleep, but will restore protein balance to assist fat loss and muscle recovery. Occasionally meals will be missed (this is inevitable for most people who live busy lives). Ensure that breakfast is not one of these.

Drink Tea & Coffee Without Sugar & Cream

If you drink tea or coffee, it is best do so without all the extra calories added sugar and cream provide (a small amount of milk should do no harm). It is surprising how many people have the perfect diet but compensate for the lack of simple sugars in this plan by consuming eight to10 teaspoons of sugar during their daily coffee breaks. Doing this can add an additional 160 calories per day of the worst type of nutrient

if you have a fat loss or muscle building goal please contact us one of our top personal trainers in the City of London would love to help!

High Intensity Interval Training, also known as HIIT, is one of those fat burning workouts that mustn’t be missed from your training schedule. HIIT involves varied work to rest ratio’s, ranging from a 10 second all-out sprint up to a slightly more gruelling 3 minute interval, followed by short, active recovery periods. These short bursts of exercise with minimal recovery keep the heart rate high, eliciting that fast fat burning effect that we all thrive for!

If the ‘fat burning effect’ isn’t enough, let’s take a look at some other benefits…

Nowadays, it’s all about training SMART… training for 1-2 hours per session is old news, and, well, so dull. Traditionally, low intensity endurance exercise was the only way to build performance indicators. Now, HIIT allows for the same, if not more, improvement in these parameters and most importantly, in a considerably less amount of time- yes, a reduced volume and a smarter approach to training! Completing a workout in less than 25 minutes, with additional benefits sounds good, right?

If you’re thinking you can’t bear another treadmill session, don’t hang up your trainers just yet! You can easily smash a HIIT session with a mix of bodyweight exercises focused to build core, upper body and leg strength. It’s a great way to work on the important strength aspects as well as benefitting from an intense cardio workout. It’s not uncommon to be put off by the words ‘High Intensity’ but with HIIT, every session is relevant and can be tailored to your specific fitness levels. Yes, HIIT is hard- but it’s also extremely achievable.

How to incorporate HIIT into your workout in 5 simple ways

Ease yourself in – We’ve already established that HIIT is an intense workout; if your body is not used to short bursts of exercise then it’s unlikely it’ll able to withstand a full-on HIIT session for the first time, so let’s not expect it to. As with anything, it’ll take time. Gradually build the intervals into each session day by day. Simply add a couple of 30/40-second efforts into your cardio workout and before you know it, you’ll be smashing a full 25-minute HIIT session and won’t ever look back!

Get specific and add variety – HIIT can be used for all sorts of specific training, for example, speed, endurance, hills etc. So, before attempting to find a hill to make your way up, think about attacking that hill in a HIIT based approach. You’ve got to get up to the top anyway, so you may as well gain more from it. Don’t just amble up the hill, get on your toes and get the heart rate pumping, set yourself targets to meet. The best thing about HIIT is you don’t need a gym, a treadmill, a bike- all you need is a space and motivation. Mix it up, add variety, incorporate two of the above; give yourself 5 hill climbs, with a faster shorter effort in-between to build speed. Or, stay at home, find yourself a space and set yourself 5 different exercises and complete for 45 seconds with 15 recovery. For example, squat jumps, skipping, burpees, split lunge and mountain climbers.

Structure your training schedule – Ideally, we want to aim for at least 2 HIIT sessions per week. These sessions need to be intense, fat burning, stimulating and rewarding. So, think about your whole week, not just the training programme, think about work, family etc. and structure your HIIT sessions effectively. It’s a waste of time doing a HIIT session if your body is just not up to it. Having a solid structure to your training schedule will avoid any possibilities of this happening. There’s no point in smashing ‘leg day’ and then expect your legs to carry you through a demanding hill session the following day. It’s just not going to happen!

Recovery – To get the most out of HIIT, don’t over train, give yourself time to recover. Every HIIT session needs to be attacked with high energy to make an impact, if you’re thinking about doing a half-hearted HIIT session, think again, and think recovery!

Enjoyment – Choose exercises you know you’ll enjoy. If you don’t like running, don’t- it’s that simple! There are plenty of other exercises that can provide HIIT that is going to push you to the max.

Sample HIIT sessions

Sample 1

Work (s)

Rest (s)

Reps

Notes

60

30

4

Longer reps for endurance.

90

40

20

5

Half the rest to work ratio really tests and improves recovery.

90

30

15

6

90

20

10

7

Shorter reps to build speed

Sample 2

Work (s)

Rest (s)

Sets

Notes

60

60

Repeat set 3 times.

Encourage the same pace/intensity/power throughout each effort. First effort may seem easy but will get harder as recovery drops.

60

45

60

30

During the third set, keep 5x 60 reps the same but mix up the recovery.

60

15

60

120

Can save longest recovery (60 s) before last effort to encourage a really high quality final rep.

If you want to enjoy the process of getting in shape whilst doing it in a non extreme way (yoyo dieting) you need to devote all your efforts in formulating a plan from now. Allowing yourself enough time to shape up for the summer months will allow you to have the odd slip up along the way and it not to be too detrimental, but if on the other hand you’ve only allowed yourself 4 weeks this can be a problem for many of us.

The Goal

Many people fall short when setting out on achieving a fitness related goal because of a few variables, specificity, time, intensity plus a few more.

The goal is to understand your goal and the various ways to conquer it. If you’re new into fitness then why not hire an experienced personal trainer to help you along your way. Ensure your training plan has structure, far too often I see individuals walking around the gym aimlessly, if you are struggling for motivation or know how just ask. When it comes to your actual workout plan choose exercises that are specific to your goal, if fat loss or a body transformation is the aim then place compound moves ahead of isolation exercises like bicep curls.

The Plan

Try keeping training long, training long is a perfect motivational tool as you can keep track of how your weights have increased or your speed during interval training. Now we all love the idea of getting summer fit so as well as a workout plan make sure you plan to attend the gym and show up! Prioritize your workouts, set reminders and events in your diary; make them as important as your work meetings or events.

The Workout

Now along with the tips above we have created a lower body workout that will help you get In amazing shape for the summer.

Lower body workout

Exercise Sets/Reps Tempo Rest

A1 BFE Split Squat 4×8-10 3010 30

A2 Trapbar deadlift 4×8-10 3011 90

B1 Drop Lunges 3×8-10 2010 10

B2 Incline Leg press 3×15-20 3010 90

C1 Farmers walks 3x30m xoxo 0

C2 Reverse sled Pulls 3x30m xoxo 120

If you would like help from the Square Mile Fitness city of London personal trainers please do get in touch, we would love to help.

“He was really motivating and kept me focussed even when work and life was hectic”

“Tirrel has completely changed how I exercise. I used to run regularly but I wanted to get more toned and I was struggling to make the changes on my own. Tirrel was brilliant at varying the exercises and keeping the sessions interesting. I started to notice improvements in the first few weeks. He was really motivating and kept me focussed even when work and life was hectic. Tirrel gave me the confidence to use weights at the gym and keep on trying new exercises. I would 100% recommend personal training Tirrel to anyone who has got stuck in the same exercise routine and wants to see real improvements.”

QUICK, TASTY, HEALTHY SNACKS FOR JANUARY:

It’s January which means detox season! After a good couple of weeks indulging in some crazy food, many are looking for healthier options to kick start their year. Personally, I’m not a fan of “diets”. They are restricting and often don’t last very long. But being healthy does NOT need to be restrictive at all!

I’ve put together a list of my 4 favourite recipe videos so you can enjoy great tasting food without any guilt!

1. Avocado 2 ways:

One of the BEST fruits and definitely a kitchen staple for me. It is such a diverse ingredient in both savoury and sweet dishes.

We are all wired differently, some of us will be better at long distance cardio while others will do much better at short sharper interval training. Regardless of these two facts there is one thing we all have In common, and that is we where all born to move.

One of the great things about interval training is that it can be highly effective for a beginners but also to the more advanced individual. Our team of personal trainers at Square Mile Fitness have come up with a few tips on how to effectively include interval training (HIIT) into your current workout program.

The Benefits

Interval training is a fantastic way of getting into incredible shape, getting fit whist saving time in the process due to its great response within the body. The perfect interval program should deliver the following

Leave you feeling a mess but incredible after

Improve your conditioning over long and short distances

Better your bone density, lowering risk of injury

Burn a bucket load of calories

Last less that 35 minutes

Leave you burning fat even after your workout is over

More on interval training

Now even though HIIT (High intensity interval training) may seem easy on paper and the though of being in and out of the gym in less than an hour sounds awesome there is a catch, interval training is tough! HIIT will challenge you both physically and mentally, some days you may even feel to pull the pin during your workout, but don’t, keep going and you’ll reap the many rewards that interval training has to offer. On the other hand as this style or workout utilizes many different rest to work ratios you’ll notice that the sessions are over before you know it, this defiantly beats the mental slog of running at a steady pace for 60 plus minutes right?

How To Get Started With Interval Training

If currently you do on include HIIT within your workout plan here are a few pointer on how to get you started. If exercise is very new to you and you do not feel comfortable running on the treadmill at high speeds you can start with a walking/ jog protocol. Try to incorporate interval training into your plan 2 times per week to help build your confidence and fitness levels. To mix things up try to alternate between incline walks then jogging flat. As a beginner you should utilize longer rest periods up to three times the amount of your working sets. You can use this approach to cardio on many forms of equipment like the bike or cross trainer to shake thins up a little.

Short Intense Intervals

If your primary goal is to improve conditioning or peak power then shorter intervals with less rest will work a treat. This sort of workout can have a great anabolic response, help you to build lean muscle and get ripped!

Here are a few examples of Interval training using shorter rest periods.

Sample workout 1

8x 10 seconds fast with 50 seconds recovery

6x 15 seconds fast with 45 seconds recovery

4x 20 seconds fast with 60 seconds recovery

Sample workout 2

7x 15 seconds fast with 75 seconds recovery

5x 25 seconds fast with 90 seconds recovery

3x 30 seconds fast with 100 seconds recovery

Endurance based intervals

If on the other hand endurance is the goal hand but you would still like to improve speed whilst retaining muscle mass your go to can still be interval training.

Here are a few examples of some endurance Interval workouts

Sample workout 1

6x 35 seconds fast with 30 seconds recovery

5x 45 seconds fast with 30 seconds recovery

4x 60 seconds fast with 30 seconds recovery

Sample workout 2

5x 45 seconds fast with 45 seconds recovery

4x 60 seconds fast with 30 seconds recovery

3x 90 seconds fast with 60 seconds recovery

HIIT Training with weights

Sample workout 1

Exercise Reps/Sets Tempo Rest

A1 Squats 3×12-15 4010 30

A2 Lat pull-down 3×12-15 3010 30

B1 Leg curl 3×8-10 4010 30

B2 Chest press 3×10-12 3110 30

C1 Leg press 3×15-20 2010 30

C2 Seated row 3×15-20 2011 30

We hope this article has given you the motivation to safely try some interval training, if you have any questions please do get in touch.

With silly season fast approaching, the diary full of charismas boozy brunches, client dinners and weekend benders, the Christmas period can easily spiral out of control, turning into a calorific bonanza. At this point in time it may feel easier to hang up your gym shoes for your dancing shoes to then resume fitness training in the new year, but there is a solution or a few rather. Here at Square Mile Fitness our expert Personal Trainers have put together a few tips to help you have a happy health fit holidays.

Here are 5 tips to keep you in tiptop shape during silly season

Get Up And Go
Even though you may have time off or a few later starts than usual use this time productively. We all love the odd lie in from time to time but this time could be used for a trip to the gym to see your trainer, a buddy up workout or a nice early morning run. Planning ahead is the perfect way to shape up your day, make keeping healthy or just moving more a priority. Another benefit to training in the morning is that you can get a good workout done before all the invites for beers come swooping in. your training does not always need to last for an hour, making intensity a priority will net you a great session in 30-40 minutes like this fat loss program we have created.

Food Glorious Food
During the winter months when the weather begins to get much colder we all tend to lean towards comfort foods, some nice roast potatoes, pies, puddings, chips the lot! Now I am not here to say don’t ever eat these foods but the key is to know when to stop; you’re not 12 years old and it is ok to leave the table without cleaning the plate if you’re already full. Don’t be so hard on yourself; now this is something I come across everyday, you have one bad thing to eat then you right off the whole day, that isn’t how it should work. Here is a little tip, plan ahead, even if it is you planning to have something bad but you will also plan the other things you eat that will be healthier. Doing this will ensure that if you do have something a tad unhealthy you will also consume foods that are much better for you, don’t beat yourself up, life goes on!

Teamwork
If you are struggling for motivation why not get your partner, a work colleague, family member or friend involved in one of your workouts; you could even ask your personal trainer if you can bring a friend along to a session to give them some motivation. Surrounding yourself with like minded individuals or someone that’s has a similar goal to yourself will feel empowering, encouraging and you’ll be able to push each other though the more difficult workouts or exercises that you may not be too fond of. Whilst training with a partner you can put your heads together to create workouts that are challenging but fun, there will be exercises that one may prefer over the other but you can motivate each other to work hard and push through the pain

Goal Setting
Plan all of your workouts into your diary and set reminders if need be, make a few bouts of exercise per week a priority. Just as you would make plans to meet up with friends to go shopping or for coffee. A workout should also be slotted into the diary and given the same importance. Approaching the holiday period aimlessly with no actual plan to exercise is just asking for trouble. With no plan it is very likely that all forms of exercise will be missed, so plan ahead to stay in the game. Try to shake things up a little from the current workout schedule that you have. So if group fitness is what you usually do why not try a short dumbbell workout in the gym or a workout that requires no equipment at all.
An ideal week could look like this for you.
Monday – Personal training session
Tuesday – Interval run outside
Wednesday – Rest
Thursday – Buddy up gym Session – or Group Fitness Class
Friday – PT session
Saturday – Rest
Sunday – – Rest

Have Fun
For many of us working out is not just for the physical aesthetic reasons but for the release of the feel good hormones or for the mental clearance of a tough day. Training should be challenging but above all you should try to enjoy it or at least feel good once its over. Get involved in friendly challenges, simple things like “ go to the gym three times per week “ if this is not achieved then a friendly forfeit are put in place, buying coffee for the team is one that I like. Enjoying what you do whether you workout in or outside the gym is important, as the more fun you have the more likely you will stick with it for an extended period of time. Find out what it is you enjoy then give it your all.

We hope a few of these tips can be put to use in order for you to have a happy fit festive session, remember Keep Hydrated, plan ahead and remember to have fun.

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